CSI Second Crossover Event

CSI - CSI:NY

CSI FRANCHISE CROSS-OVER EVENT

February 2013

The CSI Franchise shows recently had a second Cross-Over Event. Technically they had had a few other crossover episodes before that blockbuster event but that was the first one to go across ALL The shows in the franchise not just two (mostly to jump start a new series). Since there are only two shows now, the Original CSI set in Las Vegas and CSI: New York, it was more manageable and in my opinion more enjoyable than the three parter they had back in 2009. Was it that long ago? Of course once again they only had the main star(s) Cross Over. This time at least Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) got to go to Vegas. If I recall correctly, the Trilogy from '09 only had the then Main Vegas CSI Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne) traveling through all three of the shows. [CSI: Miami was cancelled last year.] I had taped the trilogy x-over, I didn't tape this one. Yes I still have a VCR I haven't broken down and joined the 20teens by getting a DVR. I almost don't really need one. Plus it has been ages though since I've gotten a "new" tape so I will have to go through my old tapes sometime and decide what to tape over. It is difficult to find blanks now-days.

Here is my sort of mini-review of this cross-over.

WARNING: This Review contains spoilers.

CSI - Episode 1: In Vino Veritas

To get this party started we attend a fancy black tie private invitation only High Quality wine auction in Vegas (or just outside). Lots of fancy dresses and pretty women barely wearing those fancy dresses. A group of men discuss some sort of private deal and go to the wine cellar. Cut to some young men in an alley shooting at a wooden wine barrel. Oops that's blood. The CSI team discovers a pickled person in a tux in the barrel. Meanwhile at CSI Crime Lab Vegas Detective Mac Taylor (Sinise) is in town and is scheduled to meet up with his girlfriend Christine later. She is supposed to be in Vegas to meet up with a potential restaurant owner who plans on opening a restaurant like hers. Crime Lab Boss D.B. Russell shows Mac around and then goes with him to meet with Christine. They arrive at her hotel room to discover a crime scene with blood and no Christine. As they piece the mystery together they discover that an eccentric wine connoisseur is counterfeiting super valuable fine wines. A botched jewellery store robbery uncovers Christine's cell phone, blood from an unknown female suspect at the scene matches blood from the hotel crime scene. The crime lab tracks down the wine counterfeiters, and the killer who stuffed the victim into the wine barrel. They find the jewellery store robber, who is also suspected of kidnapping Christine. He is Christine's co-worker but he isn't her kidnapper. He has to hand over the stolen diamonds to the real kidnappers, whom he owes a large sum of money to, or they will kill Christine and his brother in 24 hours. The snag is Christine never left New York.  Mac has no choice but to take the robber back to New York with the stolen Diamonds to make the trade for Christine. D.B. tells Mac that he isn't going to stop him, but that he will need his help in doing it. So "To Be Continued..." In New York.

CSI: NY - Episode 2: Seth and Apep

Mac and D.B. arrive in New York and get to work to arrange the exchange. The kidnappers are of middle-eastern descent and are part of an Egyptian gang. They learn that Christine is Mac's girlfriend and make some adjustments to the plan to string Mac along and separate him from his people. A connection with a dry-cleaners and a protection extortion ring for businesses in the "Little Egypt" Neighborhood. After a long day of playing cat and mouse with the kidnappers, who are behind the extortion ring, Mac solves the case, gets the crooks and gets his girl back.

All in all these two episodes were very good. The original CSI has improved with the switching out Fishburne and bringing Danson in. I had my doubts at first but he makes a fine addition to the series. I give this x-over 4 out of 5 stars.

Previous CSI Cross-Over Postings:
CSI Trilogy Crossover Special Episodes
CSI: Crossover Episode 1
CSI: Crossover Episode 2
CSI: Crossover Episode 3

CSI: Crossover Episode 3

CSI Episode 10.7 "The Lost Girl"
(CSI: Crossover Episode 3)

This review may contain SPOILERS.

Well the famous CSI Trilogy Crossover story has finally been finished. Until this across the board story arc, the only combinations of crossovers apparently were CSI/CSI:Miami to kick off the Miami Series, a couple of CSI:Miami/CSI: NY episode to gorify Horatio Caine (played by David Caruso) and get him into New York. There didn't seem to be any crossovers from CSI to CSI:NY before this story. This final episode is set in Vegas, where the whole story began only in CSI: Miami.


The whole basic plot of the entire thing centered around a missing girl Madeline Briggs played by a cute actress named Amanda MacDonald, who I could have sworn was a regular in some other series I've seen, but it looks like I've just seen her here and there in single episodes of other shows. AH I know I was confusing her with Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia). They managed to get her into each of the three CSI series as part of this story. There were virtually no other supporting or guest characters that managed to be in all three shows. The plot followed Ray Langston as he vowed to find Madeline.


As usual in this trilogy story it could have been a shorter self-contained episode. This final episode felt like the second part of a two part story arc where they leave some of it open for later on. In their own episodes Miami and NY seemed to have some minor elements that may pop up later on during the season,, but I'm not sure.

As with the episodes from the other two shows, the regular cast managed to make their appearances while doing their part to solve the case. One of my personal faves from CSI: Vegas is Wendy Simms played by Liz Vassey. I wish they had brought her in to the series much earlier, but they hadn't created the character at that point.

So now that the Trilogy Crossover is finished the various CSIs will have to return to the same old dull routine of digging up months old corpes and figuring out what happened to them and who they were.

Even though this episode was along the same sort of lines as the other two I will give this one a little better rating of 3.5 CSI thumbprints.

CSI: Crossover Episode 2

CSI: NY Episode 6.7 "Hammer Down"

(CSI: Crossover Episode 2)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

OK well this episode of the special CSI: Trilogy Crossover story, was a little better than episode one from CSI: Miami. I do see a common trend in these episodes though. Dr. Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) hopping out of a helicopter to meet the Officer in charge of whatever city he is traveling to.

Welcome to NY Ray!

OK so this episode starts with a car wreck on a bridge between a car and a big rig. The driver of the car is drunk and talking on a cell phone, he drops the phone on the floor and stupidly fumbles for it while still driving at a high rate of speed. The trucker is also distracted but by a passenger he has locked up in the compartment behind him. The driver of the car dies and is insignificant to the main plot. Darn. The truck driver turns out to be yet another piece in this massive trilogy puzzle that from previews and from further details revealed in this New York based episode deals with human trafficing in addition to the forced prostitution from the Miami Connection.

A character that was originally a suspect in the Miami part, becomes a victim in Miami and is now transported to New York along with another piece of the main puzzle black market organ transplants.

Again this was an episode that could have been contained within just one city but they needed to do some November Sweeps and make a spectacular crossover storyline that only uses Langston as the only character that crosses over. That saves some cast scheduling I guess. You just have one actor to transport between all the shooting locations.


While watching this particular episode I started thinking about the various crimes that are dramatized in the show. Sadly things like human trafficing and black market organs are big crime business, that is kept under the big media rug and has a certain air of mystery to them, but I digress.

I really enjoy CSI: NY over the other two series, but this episode was lacking in some areas and didn't seem like a true CSI: NY episode. Even though it was still an alright episode. I guess again I'll give it 3/5 CSI thumbprints.

CSI: Crossover Episode 1

CSI: MIAMI Episode 8.7 "Bone Voyage"

(CSI: Crossover Episode 1)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Well this episode was OK as far as CSI stories go. It seems to me that they have parceled off sub-plots to build up the main trilogy plot. I don't want to give off too much here but basically the plot involves the Miami CSIs getting a missing person's report and then finding only severed limbs. The problem is the second body part they find belongs to a second victim, that was reported missing by the Las Vegas Crime Lab. So to solve the mystery they bring in Dr. Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) to help them. He of course can't leave until they have solved this thing. They figure out part of the mystery the who did the cutting, but not necessarily the killing. They need to find out who originally dumped the victim's body.

A sort of subplot to the main theme is the victims wanted to be models (big universal cliche plot) and were forced to prostitute themselves. The Miami victim's story seems to be self contained and almost complete, but the Vegas victims story apparently is the plot that crosses over all three series.

All in all I enjoyed the episode, but it really could have been toned down to just one of the series, so far. I'll give it a 3/5 CSI thumbprints/stars.